Richard Tuttle - Winged Warrior

“Not when you continue to work against my father,” Lady Mystic shook her head. “What more must he do to you to make you understand?”

“That is the question that I want to pose to you,” frowned Aakuta. “How many times must he reject you and abuse you before you see him as he really is?”

“You just don’t know him as I do,” retorted Lady Mystic as she turned and walked away.

Aakuta watched sadly as his love retreated towards the city. He sighed with frustration before his mind got around to thinking about what she might have observed while spying on him. Suddenly, his jaw opened in fear. He had been a fool to let her walk away. Lady Mystic might be a fool where her father was concerned, but she was a tremendously intelligent woman. Was it possible that she saw him weave the air tunnel? Would she take that knowledge to Vand if she did?

Filled with terror, Aakuta raced towards the city, uncaring about his appearance to others. He ran into the alley hoping to see Lady Mystic walking along it. She was nowhere in sight. He continued to run along the alley until he came to the door to her home. It was wide open. He entered the house hoping to find Lady Mystic inside. The house was empty.

Aakuta stood in the laboratory staring at the broken glass and ingredients strewn across the floor. He thought about his previous exit from the house and tried to understand his friend’s emotional state and determine what her reactions must have been. Finally, he nodded conclusively when he realized that she would take the air tunnel to Vand. There was nothing that Aakuta could do now to stop her. Instead of wasting time berating himself for his failure, Aakuta gathered up the ingredients that he had seen Lady Mystic use to make the pain-killing potion. He grabbed an old pack off the floor and filled it with what he would need to duplicate her potion.

With the pack in hand, Aakuta left the house, closing the door behind him. He immediately headed to the edge of the city and dashed across the open area to the forest beyond. Once he found a secluded glade, Aakuta sat down and opened the pack. He removed the ingredients and began to concoct a batch of the pain-killing potion. When he was done, he filled four glass bottles with the liquid and put stoppers in to seal them. He dug a hole with his hands and buried the old pack along with the tools used to make the potion. Taking the four bottles, Aakuta wandered through the woods, looking for four different places to hide the liquid drugs.

* * *

Lady Mystic stopped at the front entrance to the temple. The guards immediately stiffened and move their pikes to prohibit her entry.

“You know that you are not allowed in the temple,” stated one of the guards.

“I know,” Lady Mystic nodded. “Send word to my father that I am here to see him. It is extremely important.”

“The Emperor will not accept such a message,” the guard shook his head. “You do not exist.”

“You will go to the Emperor, and tell him that I am hear,” Lady Mystic said forcefully. “If you don’t, I will see that you are severely punished. Tell him that I know the secret of the air tunnel. Go!”

The two guards looked at each other for a long moment before one of them shrugged and stepped through the door. Lady Mystic waited impatiently for his return. The wait seemed like an eternity, but the guard eventually returned with a squad of soldiers.

“You will have an escort,” announced the guard.

Lady Mystic sighed and nodded. She had not expected her father to treat her so poorly, but she knew that everything would change in a few moments. She allowed herself to be escorted up to the throne room. She smiled broadly as she walked into the throne room. It felt like home to her. She gazed up at her father and smiled. The Emperor glared in return.

“You profess to know the air tunnel,” Vand announced bluntly. “Prove it.”

Lady Mystic halted halfway across the room. Half of the soldiers escorting her continued onward unaware of her halting. The other half stopped abruptly in confusion. Lady Mystic wove the air tunnel and aimed it at the Emperor.

“I have succeeded where others have failed, Father,” Lady Mystic said softly into the air tunnel.

A look of surprise illuminated the Emperor’s face. He grinned broadly and nodded. “Approach, Lady Mystic,” he said loudly.

Lady Mystic grinned and felt a shiver of victory course through her body. The others in the room stared in confusion as they wondered what was happening. Lady Mystic marched up and stood before her father.

“Teach me,” the Emperor instructed. “I want to know how it is done.”

Lady Mystic gladly instructed the Emperor in the creation of the air tunnel. He nodded his understanding and experimented with it. First he aimed one at Clarvoy, the head spy for Motanga.

“Now we have something we can use against them,” whispered the Emperor. “We must discuss the implications of this discover. Stay when the others are dismissed.”

Across the room, the head spy merely nodded. Next, the Emperor directed an air tunnel at one of the mages in the rear of the room. He instructed the man to leave the room. While no one else had heard the utterance, the mage nodded and walked out the doors.

“This is wonderful,” announced the Emperor. “How did you learn this magic?”

“I watched Aakuta use it,” grinned Lady Mystic. “Surely you can have no doubts about my loyalty now. He would die if he knew that I was instructing you in its use.”

“He would not die,” frowned the Emperor. “I have not allowed it yet. Why didn’t you bring this knowledge to me before? Why have you waited until now?”

“I just learned it,” answered Lady Mystic. “I brought the knowledge to you as soon as I learned it.”

“Do not lie to me,” shouted Vand. “The insane do not go around casting spells.”

“I am not lying,” frowned Lady Mystic. “I do not understand it, but Aakuta still has the ability to reason. I made up a potion to ease his pain, and he became quite lucid. The first thing he did was to run to the beach and create an air tunnel. I followed him and spied on him. I came here as soon as I learned his secret.”

“You aided the traitor?” scowled Vand. “You will never aid him again. Is that understood?”

“I understand,” Lady Mystic responded, her brow creasing heavily, “but my aid enabled us to discover his secret. Besides, I will never see him again once I move back into the temple. Surely you would not allow him entry.”

“Allow him entry?” balked Vand. “Never. I do not allow the enemy into my midst. Everybody out. This court session is over.”

The people started to leave. Lady Mystic turned to leave, and Vand stopped her.

“Not you, Daughter,” Vand said softly. “I am not through with you yet.”

Lady Mystic turned to her father and smiled. When all of the people had left, Clarvoy stepped forward and stood beside Lady Mystic.

“Lady Mystic has brought valuable information today,” the Emperor said to the head spy.

Lady Mystic beamed with pride as she listened.

“This information has altered my plans,” the Emperor continued. “Aakuta must be found and destroyed.”

“How can we destroy him?” asked Clarvoy. “He is protected from death.”

“Not any longer,” announced the Emperor. “By the time you exit the temple, his protection from death will be lifted.”

“It shall be as you wish,” nodded Clarvoy.

“You are also to go to Lady Mystic’s home,” instructed the Emperor. “Destroy her laboratory. I will not have traitors making potions to aid my enemy.”

“Destroy my laboratory?” Lady Mystic echoed with shock. “Is that really necessary? Couldn’t I just move it to my chambers here in the temple?”